Hi everyone, thanks again for waiting. So, we have finally reached the conclusion of the Devil Hand arc. This has been one hell of a ride (no pun intended) and I'm so glad that you all enjoyed reading it. Just letting you know this is actually the first of a double update, I plan to have the second one out a few days after this one is up. I really want to get this finished so I can get started on Tenrou Island and that is bound to be exciting. So, without further delay, let us begin.
A Bittersweet Aftermath
Temen-ni-gru, once a feared edifice, constructed by those who revered evil to act as a bridge between Earthland and the Underworld, was nothing more than a massive pile of rubble. It was almost impossible to believe, yet it really did happen. The dreaded dark tower was no more. At the south side of the massive cluster of rubble, far away from all the recuperating wizards of Fairy Tail and their allies, was a single individual.
Vergil tried to steady himself on his feet, using the sheathed Yamato to try and keep himself from falling. He had exhausted everything from his fight against Arkham, and it took even more just to have something of a stable landing while trying to get away from Dante and Natsu as the tower was collapsing. However, thanks to his own demonic nature, his physical stature would recover quickly, his power however would take some time to recover.
The eldest son of Sparda looked towards what was left of Temen-ni-gru with disappointment. Though he would be lying if he said he wasn't satisfied at the memory of killing Arkham. He was a fool to let himself be tricked like that, no matter, it won't happen again; and there was no need to dwell on this failure either. He was about to turn around when he heard someone call to him.
"Hi there."
Vergil turned and looked in surprise to see a certain short old man sitting on a small pile of rubble with a casual smile.
"Makarov Dreyar. The guildmaster of Fairy Tail and one of the ten Wizard Saints!"
"I see you've done some research." Makarov said. "You are quite intelligent almost as you are strong."
Vergil simply turned away and made no effort to retreat. "Are you here to apprehend me? My power has been depleted and my body is exhausted, if there was a time to detain me it be right now."
"You're not even going to try and run away?" Makarov asked.
"I doubt I could ever escape someone of your stature, weak as I am now." Vergil acknowledge.
"Don't worry, I can see you've been through enough, so I won't throw salt on the wound." Makarov said as he climbed down off the pile, but Vergil kept his back toward him. "Let me ask you something Vergil, why is it you seek to gain power?"
Vergil glanced back towards Makarov. "As a Wizard Saint, you should already know the answer to that question. Might and power control everything. You got to where you are because of the power you wield. Without strength, you can't go anywhere, you are nothing."
Makarov sighed. "There is some truth in your words. It is important to be strong, and maybe the amount of power you wield can determine where you go in life; but I believe that power alone isn't the answer to everything; it's how you choose to wield that power that determines who you are. So, you seek to be as strong as your father, maybe even surpass him, but why? What do you plan to do with that power?"
"To kill Mundus." Vergil answered as he looked away, his fists clenching. "And to take his throne as the next Demon Emperor."
"But why?" Makarov asked as Vergil glanced back toward him. "I can think of many reasons why an individual would want to vanquish Mundus. To take his place, or to protect this world from his evil, but why do you seek it? Is it revenge? To protect something or someone? Or is it a more personal reason? In my lifetime, I have faced many enemies, several with grand ambitions of domination or they simply seek destruction and chaos; those who fully give into darkness and never look back. There is no question what you have done was wrong, Vergil. But I don't quite get that 'villainous vibe' from you; you're not evil, not in the same sense as Mundus."
Vergil looked towards Makarov with an impatient expression. "What do you want from me?"
"I have no qualms about you wanting to become stronger, but there is no reason to go down a dark path for it." Makarov said. "There are other ways you can gain more power, and you don't have to do it alone. Why not join Fairy Tail?"
For one of the very few times in his life, Vergil was completely stunned. He looked towards the guildmaster with a shocked expression and didn't really know what to say.
"There is no way for me to know what you have gone through." Makarov continued. "What it was that made you go down such a path, but it's not too late to turn back and make a fresh start. You don't have to be alone in the dark." He extended his hand toward Vergil. "Let me help you."
Vergil, for the first time, had no idea what to say. Was he serious? Was Makarov really offering him a spot in Fairy Tail? Vergil actually reached his hand out for a second, but he stopped. He clenched his hand as his eyes closed.
"If I say 'no', will you drag me back by force?"
The elderly guildmaster closed his eyes as he had a feeling what was coming next. "No. I'll never force anyone to do anything against their will."
"Then I decline." Vergil said. "There is far too much bad blood between me and many of your guild's members, not just Dante. I doubt they would be so acceptant of me." He turned around. "However, I will acknowledge the strength they each have. I underestimated many of them, and they have my respect."
Makarov sighed, he had a feeling Vergil wouldn't accept his offer, but it was worth a try. "Very well, I won't tell the Magic Council about you. If only because I do not fully trust them, and it could cause harm for Dante and the rest of my guild. At the very least, let me give you some friendly advice; take some time to smell the flowers, or even just look at the clear blue sky, appreciate the little things in life and you might be surprised what more it has to offer than just power." Vergil said nothing as Makarov made a final note. "And, let me give you a warning Vergil. If you do anything to harm my children…" He shot a fierce glare at Vergil and emitted a pulse of his magic from his body to shake up the area. "…I won't hesitate to completely obliterate you!"
Vergil was slightly backed away by instinct from the brief display of Makarov's power. He was no fool, if he would do battle against Makarov, even at his full power, he might not win. At least, not with the power he had now. He retained his stoic look as he turned around and brought out Yamato. He sliced horizontally and vertically as it appeared to cut through space, before the cuts expanded to reveal a black portal. He was about to enter when he stopped and made a final remark.
"Thank you for the offer."
With that, Vergil stepped into the portal which closed behind him. Makarov didn't quite know what to feel right now. There was little doubt what Vergil did was wrong, and he did hurt many of his children, but he wasn't truly evil, he could see that.
"I may not know what sort of man you want to be Vergil, but I do hope that one day, you are able to find peace."
Meanwhile, everyone else was busy recuperating as they all took a moment to sit down and rest or help to amend any injuries their friends might have. Wendy of course wasted no time volunteering with her healing magic, and even Sheeree used her Magical Drain to copy Wendy's ability so she could help to.
"Wendy be careful." Carla advised as Wendy was healing Alzack with Bisca helping him on his feet "You've already used a great deal of your magic today, don't exert yourself."
"I'm fine Carla, really." Wendy assured. "I don't mind helping my friends."
"That's the spirit, kiddo. Way to pull your weight." Bisca said with a smirk.
"You guys all came to help." Wendy said with a touched smile. "I really don't know what to say."
"Hey nothing to say." Alzack assured as Wendy finished healing him. "We're all part of the same guild, we help each other no matter what."
Wendy smiled and nodded. She also felt a hand placed on her head as she looked up toward Modeus who smiled down at her, who in turn smiled back.
At the same time, Sheeree was using her copied healing magic to help take care of Jet and Droy as Levy helped to.
"So, you can copy anybody's magic?" Levy asked the younger girl.
"Eh… yeah." Sheeree replied as she looked down in shame. "But when I try to copy multiple types of magic at once it drains my energy. Not exactly reliable."
"Well I think it's actually pretty cool." Levy said with a smile, much to Sheeree's surprise. "I mean, I've never seen anyone who can copy any type of magic, even Dragon Slayer magic! That's actually pretty amazing!"
"You think I'm amazing…?" Sheeree voiced in surprise as Levy nodded in confirmation. "But… I was your enemy. I was part of Devil Hand I…"
Levy kneeled and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, you made a mistake and your sorry for it, aren't you? Believe it or not, a lot of us in Fairy Tail have pasts were not proud of, we've all made mistakes, but we learn and grow from them. Wendy seems to trust you, so you can trust us to."
Sheeree's eyes welled up as tears fell down her face, all the while Levy placed both her hands on the girl's shoulders to comfort her. Wendy all the while smiled as she looked at her friend.
Lucy and Lisanna were both helping Natsu up on his feet as he had exhausted pretty much all his magic from the last fight.
"Come on, take it easy Natsu." Lucy told him.
"Yeah, you shouldn't push yourself." Happy added as he flew up toward him.
"It's fine. I just need something to eat than I'll be back on my feet!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly, only to wince as he felt his shoulder.
"I literally just told you to take it easy!" Lucy lightly scolded.
"That's Natsu for you." Lisanna giggled slightly.
"Oh, I forgot something." Natsu's eyes widened as he spot a certain blonde. "Hey Trish!" She walked over to him as Natsu handed the Devil Sword Sparda. "I think this is yours."
Trish looked in minor surprise but smiled as she took the sword back. "Thanks Natsu."
"You got spunk Salamander; I'll give you that." Satan remarked as he suddenly showed up; surprising the girls and Happy, but Natsu glared at him.
"You still wanna fight pal!?" Natsu yelled.
"Nah, I'm good." Satan dismissed as he sat down on the ground.
"That's a quick turnaround!" Natsu said in comic shock. "Seriously, when you went against me and Gajeel, all you wanted to do was fight!"
"Yeah but… after I learned how I was just a pawn to that prick Arkham, all my wrath was directed to him. Now that he's gone, I think I'm all spent. Got no more rage to give; plus, with all this fuddy-duddy happy ending crap going around I got no negative energy to feed of." Satan fell back. "So, I think I'm just gonna chill here on the ground."
Natsu simply looked dumbfounded while Happy, Lisanna, Trish, and Lucy simply looked confused.
Gray and Juvia meanwhile sat down with Wakaba and Macao. "Well I'm glad all that's finally over." Macao said.
"You can say that again." Wakaba agreed. "Think we'll leave all the demon-fighting stuff to Dante."
"Well I think you all did considerably well." Juvia said with a smile. "Who else can say they bested an army of demons and lived to tell the tale?"
"Awe, you're so sweet Juvia." Wakaba joked with a chuckle.
"Yeah well, the rest of us ended up doing all the heavy lifting with the heavy hitters inside that thing. Think you old timers could use a break." Gray cracked.
"Hey, who you are calling an old timer, huh?" Macao cracked as the group laugh.
"Geeze you guys are so sappy." Mammon suddenly appeared in front of them; causing their laughter to stop as Gray and Juvia stood up, both ready to fight him. "Oh cool it guys, I'm not gonna fight you."
"You're not?" Gray asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What would I gain from it?" Mammon asked. "Look, I get I'm the Sin of Greed and all that, but everything I could have wanted is either trashed or done. Plus, I'm just about spent of magic so I got no reason to fight." He sat on the ground.
They lowered their guard but still kept an eye on him. "Well, what you did was wrong." Juvia said. "But you did help us to battle all those demons so, it would be wrong to at least not give you thanks."
Mammon sighed but gave a slight smirk. "Didn't ask for your thanks, but I'll take it anyway. Oh, and let me know if Ice-Boy there isn't a good fit for ya, I'll treat you nice sweetheart."
That caused Juvia to back away with a blush on her face. But suddenly Lyon came to her defense. "That is no way to properly address a lady."
"And what makes you such a lady-expert?" Mammon questioned Lyon.
"Women expect a gentleman to treat with sincerity, not a physical object to simply take." Lyon stated.
As the two argued, Juvia ended up hiding behind Gray who simply looked annoyed, but Macao and Wakaba had smirks on their faces.
"Looks like you got some competition Gray." Macao joked.
"Better be careful or one of them might steal Juvia from you." Wakaba joked as well. Gray simply growled as he hung his head.
Juvia however looked a bit minor surprise as she got a good look at Lyon. "Hey Gray, I just noticed, but doesn't your friend Lyon look almost exactly like Vergil."
That caught Gray's attention, as well as Macao and Wakaba as they looked toward Lyon who was still arguing with Mammon.
"Yeah you're right, they do sort of look alike." Macao noticed.
"They both got the sharp pointy eyes and the same kind of hair style." Wakaba said. "Even their hair color is similar."
"Pretty sure the two aren't related though." Gray said. "But yeah he does kinda remind me of him." In addition, Lyon had the same sort of belief about strength way back at Galuna Island with Deliora, of course there were quite a few differences as well, not just with appearance but with persona to.
At the same time; Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, Mira, and Elfman looked around at their comrades who seemed to have happy moods and appeared to be getting along.
"Well, it would seem the storm has finally passed." Freed acknowledged.
"Yeah, all the action's died down." Bickslow agreed.
"About time, I could really use a break." Evergreen sat down. "But you look like you need a bigger break than the rest of us Elfman."
"I'm fine, this is nothing." Elfman brushed off, despite being covered in bandages.
"No, you need to get those injuries looked at as soon as possible." Mira told him as she helped him sit down. "Once we get back to the guild, we'll have Porlyusica take a look at you."
"Yeah well, a real man can take the pain. He'll do whatever it takes to see his family make it out okay." Elfman stated.
Evergreen rolled her eyes. "There you go with the whole 'real man' thing. Honestly that's getting really old."
"Hey! You ain't a man so you got no room to talk!" Elfman comically exclaimed with an anger mark on his head.
"That's really not a convincing argument, brother." Mira said with a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah well, you did what you said you'd do, right?" Bickslow commented. "You got everyone out of that damn tower."
"Yes." Freed agreed. "You truly are a real man."
Elfman smiled at their complements, but his smile slightly faded. "Not everyone." He thought back about Adrian; though he knew that Adrian couldn't be completely saved, he and Mira did save the boy's soul and helped him to find peace, it still hurt to know exactly what that kid had gone through. Mira noticed his expression and immediately knew what he was thinking, causing her to look down in a bit of sadness as well.
Back with Natsu, as Happy and Lucy sat him down, Lisanna suddenly found herself surrounded by the three Trimen of the Blue Pegasus guild.
"Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to be Lisanna Strauss, would you?" Hibiki asked.
"Um… yes?"
"I must say, you are every bit as lovely as your sister." Hibiki complemented, causing her to look in confusion.
"For someone thought to be dead, you sure look great." Ren commented as he appeared behind her, giving her a coy complement.
"If that is true, then surely you must be an angel. You are every bit as beautiful as one." Eve said as he held her hand like a gentleman.
Natsu had an irritated expression as he saw this. "Ooh Natsu, you got some competition." Happy teased.
"Shut up Happy." Natsu grumbled, causing Lucy to chuckle a bit.
"Hey, speaking of angels." Ren got serious as he glanced towards Sorano, formerly known as Angel from the Oracion Seis, as she sat on a rock and looked away with a neutral expression.
"What is she doing here?" Eve questioned as he and Hibiki glared in her direction.
"She wasn't here by choice." Lisanna quickly said. "She was kidnapped along with my sister and Lady and used by Devil Hand. She was just as much a victim here as the rest of us."
"That might be true, but she still killed Karen." Hibiki recalled.
"Karren might not have been the nicest person, but she was still one of us, a member of Blue Pegasus." Eve stated.
"That is unforgivable." Ren said.
"I heard about that." Lisanna began. "I heard all she's done, but… I don't think she's like that anymore."
"It's true." Lucy stood up and walked toward them. "She's really changed; she even saved our lives, helped us to take down one of Devil Hand's elite."
That took them by surprise, but even more so as Lucy walked towards Sorano and sat down next to her. "You doing alright?"
"I'm fine." She replied. "You didn't have to defend me like that, you know?" She asked, having heard what she said to the Trimens.
"But it's true." Lucy said. "You saved me and my friend, even helped us take out Asmodeua. You really have changed."
"I guess I have." Sorano said as she looked at her hands. "It's funny, back with the Oracion Seis, I didn't really feel bad about the stuff that I did but now… I… I just can't help but… hate myself for it."
"That is proof you're changing for the better." Lucy said as Sorano looked at her in surprise. "You know you did was wrong, and you want to do better to make up for it. You feel bad."
"Why do you sound so happy about that?" Sorano asked. "I mean, I tortured your spirits right in front of you and tried to kill you."
"Maybe, but you feel bad about that, don't you?"
She looked down. "Yes."
"If someone from a major dark guild is capable of regret, then it means you can change and become better. And if you want, I can help you along that path." Lucy held out her hand and smiled. Sorano had no idea what to say, but she smiled back and took her hand.
Meanwhile; Dante found himself sitting down with Gajeel, Gildarts, Cana, and Lily watching all this.
"It would seem that our battle against Devil Hand is in the distant past." Panther-Lily noted.
"Yep, that's how things work here." Cana said with a smirk. "Beat up the bad guys and laugh the whole way."
"And that's why I love this guild." Dante smirked as well.
"It ain't boring at least." Gajeel grunted but had a small smirk himself.
"Excuse me." They looked up to see Jura approach them along with Sherry, Toby, and Yuka. "But you are Dante, the Son of Sparda, correct?"
"Yep, that's me." Dante gave a finger salute.
"I must say, it truly is an honor to meet someone of your caliber." Jura smiled and nodded.
"Oh man you are so cool!" Toby exclaimed as he ran up to Dante and shook his hand repeatedly like an excited fanboy. "You're the son of demon! Does that mean you're a demon!? Was your mom a demon?! What about your grandpa and grandma?! You got any brothers and sisters?! What kind of magic do you use?! Can demons use magic?!"
"Down boy, down!" Yuka dragged Toby away by the ear. "Sorry about him. He's easily excited."
"It's cool." Dante dismissed.
"Someone's got a fanboy already." Cana joked as she nudged Dante's arm.
"Sucks to be you bro." Gajeel joked as well.
"But it is rather exciting to meet someone who is a direct descendant of such a legend." Yuka said.
"Not a bad looking guy either." Sherry noted with a smirk. "So, you got a girlfriend?"
"Yep, I got ladies lining up the door at my place." Dante smirked.
"Since when?" Cana cracked.
"If you're a ladies-man, then Salamander's a genius." Gajeel joked.
"Now, now, there's no need to be so blunt." Panther-Lily eased but smiled along with everyone.
At the same time, as everyone in the group talked and helped each other, Erza looked on and smiled but felt a chill run down her spine as a familiar presence made itself known.
"Oh Erza, my blazing haired beauty." Ichiya grabbed Erza's hand and sniffed it. "How I missed your sweet parfume. Even in the midst of the demons it is every bit as lovely as before."
Erza's hair stood on end as she was just about ready to punch him, but Lady's right boot came in to kick Ichiya in the head and send him comically rolling away. "Ever heard of personal space buddy?" Lady stated as Ichiya rolled down the hill shouting 'Men!' the whole way.
"Thanks Lady." Erza said with a breath of relief.
"No problem." She smirked but it quickly vanished. "Hey uh Erza… I…I just wanted to say thanks for… being with me when I… you know…"
Erza looked to Lady with a sympathetic expression as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You don't have to thank me for that. I know I've said this before, but Fairy Tail is more than a guild, it's a family; you are a part of my family and there isn't anything I wouldn't do to help you, same goes for the everyone else here."
"Yeah…" Lady looked around at the other Fairy Tail members and their allies. "It's kinda funny. When I first joined your guild, I only did it because I could get a paycheck. But now… I just… I don't know what to say other than… it just makes me… happy."
Erza smiled. "No matter what happens, no matter what demon from your past may come, or who your bloodlines connect you to, you will always be welcomed here. Fairy Tail is just as much your home as it is ours. I may not have known your mother, but if she was here, I'm sure she'd be happy that you are happy."
Lady smiled as she felt some tears form in her eyes and before rubbing them out with her hand.
At the same time, Makarov had walked back to join the group and met up with Gildarts who looked on at everyone getting along.
"Guess it's time to call it a day, eh Master?" Gildarts asked.
"Not yet." Makarov said, getting his attention. "We have company."
Everyone else soon noticed it as well. All their friendly conversations and everything else was brought to a halt as they all set their eyes upon the approaching small army of Rune Knights. Nearly everyone looked on with a serious expression or a glare, some were a bit more nervous than others, particularly Sheeree and even Wendy, with which Modeus stood protectively in front of the two girls. Even Angel looked a bit nervous.
There was almost a hundred Rune Knights present as the army came to a halt with a caravan being brought up near the side of the leader, the same bespectacled lackey of the Magic Council many of them already knew.
"Attention all wizards present; I am Lahar, Captain of the Magic Council's Fourth Custody Enforcement Unit, and this is my army."
"Yeah, we already we know who you guys are." Natsu stated, not liking where this was going.
"Wow, talk about Déjà vu." Lucy uttered.
"Aye." Happy nodding in agreement.
"So nice of you guys to show up after the fight's all done." Trish commented.
Makarov was the first to walk up towards Lahar, followed by Jura. "Greetings Lahar, to what do we owe this distinct pleasure?" Makarov spoke in a diplomatic tone but kept a close eye on this man.
"We are under direct orders of the Magic Council to bring the agents of Devil Hand into custody." Lahar said as he looked towards the crowd, particularly towards two certain dark wizards. "I ask that you please cooperate and hand over the wizards codenamed Mammon and Satan."
All the wizards looked toward the aforementioned duo as they both looked annoyed at the very least. Mammon was the first to stand up with a sigh. "Let's get this over with."
"Hang on, we're coming." Satan stood up as the two began to walk towards the army. Though none of the wizards were planning on stopping them, there was some minor surprise as to the level of cooperation they were giving.
"You guys ain't gonna resist?" Dante asked as they walked past him.
"Nah, like I told Salamander, I ain't got the nerve to fight." Satan remarked. "But, on the positive side, if I end up in jail with a bunch of other powerful dark wizards…" He smirked eagerly. "I'll have a lot more skulls to crack!"
"I'm not eager to fight anyone, but I don't really care anymore." Mammon said. "After being used by some old guy, all the things I thought I wanted just doesn't seem all that appealing, so might as well." He walked up towards Lahar and suddenly took his glasses off his face, much to his shock. "But I'm taking these." Mammon smirked as he put the glasses on his face. This resulted in Satan laughing.
Lahar scowled as he took his glasses back but scowled even more when he saw several of the other wizards chuckling slightly or just smirking. Even Natsu laughed a bit.
"Okay, that was pretty funny." Natsu snickered.
Mammon and Satan were placed into cuffs shortly after that and led into the carriage. However, Lahar wasn't done yet. "As I said before, I'm under direct orders to bring all of Devil Hand's agents into custody, that includes you… codename Leviatha." The girl looked in shock, as did Wendy. "Even the Dark Wizard under the codename of Angel, you are under arrest as well. Let's go."
Most of the wizards present ended up glaring at the Rune Knights as several stood up, some even looked ready to fight. Lucy was the first to stand in front of Angel.
"Hold on a second!" The Blonde wizard exclaimed. "Sorano was never part of Devil Hand! She was kidnapped and taken here against her will! You were there to, remember?! Those demons tried to snatch her during that mission we were all together!"
"The same mission you were probably testing me, right?" Dante thought to himself.
"While it is true that Angel isn't a part of Devil Hand, she still has to serve the remainder of her time for her crimes as part of the Oracion Seis." Lahar stated.
"But…" Lucy tried to interject, but Sorano put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay." She said with a sad smile. "He's right, I have to face punishment for my crimes. But, thanks for standing up for me Lucy, even after all I've done; that means a lot." She then turned to the youngest of the Strauss Siblings. "Lisanna, right? Thank you for helping to save me, I owe you."
Lisanna was mildly surprised but smiled and nodded to Sorano. She then walked close towards Lahar, but before she was about to be placed into custody, she called out to a certain Devil Hunter.
"Dante, I… thank you again." She began. "If it's not too much trouble, I have a request."
"Name it." Dante replied as Sorano turned to him.
"I have a younger sister… her name is Yukino… Yukino Agira. I haven't seen her since I was a kid… since I was taken to the Tower of Heaven all those years ago. Could you… could you please find her and look after her… at least till I'm out? Please?"
Dante's look softened a bit, but he smiled. "Yukino Agira, huh? Yeah, I can do that."
"Really?" She turned to him with a hopeful expression on her face.
"I mean it." Dante said with a serious tone of voice. "I'll find her, and I promise I'll do what I can to help her. You have my word, both as the Son of Sparda, and a member of Fairy Tail."
Sorano smiled as her eyes welled up and tears flowed down her cheeks. "Thank you… I can't tell you how much that means to me!" She shed tears of joy as she was led into the carriage, alongside Mammon and Satan.
Lucy's expression softened as she and Lisanna smiled slightly, even Dante gave his own smile. The members of Blue Pegasus couldn't help but look in pity. They may never forgive her for killing Karren, but she seemed serious about repenting so maybe her soul really was salvageable.
However, it was still not finished yet as Lahar directed his attention towards Sheeree who still looked very nervous. "Leviatha of Devil Hand, you are under arrest as well. Let's go, and do note that if you resist, we are ordered to take you in by force if necessary." All the Rune Knights had their spears at the ready; but this only seemed to anger many of the wizards present.
Modeus was quick to stand in front of Sheeree alongside Erza. "You would raise your arms against a child?!" Modeus questioned in anger.
"Sheeree played an integral role in destroying Temen-ni-gru and the defeat of Devil Hand." Erza stated.
"She is still a member, one of its elite even." Lahar argued. "Many Rune Knights present remember her from the attempted abduction of Angel, working alongside demons no less."
"No! Please don't take her away!" Wendy pleaded. "It's not her fault! She was manipulated and tricked into helping Devil Hand! You can't punisher her for that!"
"Was she brainwashed?" Lahar questioned, causing Wendy to look in surprise. "Was she under the influence of someone's spell? If not, then she clearly assisted a Dark Guild, and even assaulted Rune Knights, that is a capital offense."
"No! You're not taking her!" Wendy's eyes welled up as she put on a determined expression. "I won't let you!" Sheeree looked in surprise at how willingly Wendy was able to stand up for her, even to the Magic Council.
Lahar looked surprised before he glared. "If you defend a criminal, we'll have no choice but to bring you in to."
Right as he said that; Natsu, Dante, Happy, Gray, Carla, and Erza all stood alongside Modeus. "You wanna get to Wendy, you gotta go through us first!" Natsu declared.
"Got that right!" Gray exclaimed. "You mess with one member of Fairy Tail, you mess with all of us!"
Nearly all the Rune Knights readied themselves for a fight, but in direct response to that; all the wizards of Fairy Tail; the Thunder Legion, Team Shadowgear, Lady, Trish, Gajeel, Panther-Lily, Alzack, Bisca, Max, Warren, Cana, Elfman, Mira, Juvia, Lucy, Lisanna, Macao, Wakaba, even Gildarts and Makarov got up and were more than ready to fight back. They weren't alone either as Lyon, Jura, Sherry, Toby, and Yuka of Lamia Scale, and even Ichiya and the Trimens of Blue Pegasus all stood at the ready, more than willing to assist their Fairy Tail allies. Despite all of them feeling quite fatigued and outnumbered, none of them were willing to back down from the Rune Knights.
Sheeree could only cover her mouth with both her hands as tears welled up in her eyes. These people barley knew her and were aware of her past transgressions, yet they were willing to defy the Magic Council to protect her. She had never been so touched in her life.
Lahar raised his hand and was ready to give the order when Sheeree suddenly called out. "Wait! Please… just wait! I'll… I'll go with you." Wendy, Carla, and virtually everyone else looked towards Sheeree in surprise as the girl had a pained expression on her face, tears already flowing down her eyes. "I'll go… just please… don't hurt any of them!"
Lahar was stunned for a second but lowered his hand, which led to the Rune Knights lowering their weapons as well, followed by the wizards. Sheeree was about to walk up, but Wendy grabbed her hand.
"Sheeree, no! Please you don't have to go with them!" Wendy begged, as it looked like she was about to cry her eyes out to. "Please! I know I failed you, but we can help you!"
"Wendy, it's okay." Sheeree tried to smile but was still crying as she gently took both her hands. "Let me do this for you. You didn't hurt me, I hurt you, don't make this any harder than it needs to be; I already put you through enough, I don't want to get you or any of your friends hurt just trying to protect me."
"Sheeree…" Wendy's eyes were already wet, tears flowed down her face as Sheeree let go, she was about to walk forward when Makarov threw a hand out to halt her advance, much to her surprise. The Fairy Tail guildmaster looked directly at Lahar with a hardened expression.
"This girl's actions cannot be ignored, and she has to find a way to make up for it, that much I agree with." Makarov acknowledged. "However, she is still a minor. Article 7, section 14 of the Magic Council's custody procedures: anyone under the age of 18 must go through the juvenile processing unless the person in question has taken a life. This girl has not killed anybody, that being said, she will not go to prison. Instead, you will take her to a juvenile detention center to serve a temporary sentence. This girl will not face a life sentence." Makarov warned.
Lahar looked down towards the elderly man. "Her actions are still rather severe, assisting a dangerous Dark Guild. Laws and rules can be changed if necessary."
"So only you decide which laws need to be changed and when to serve the Council's needs? Is that what you are saying?" Makarov questioned. "I can understand if this new Council wishes to make changes, but I will not tolerate is hypocrisy and the abuse of power, regardless of what position they uphold. You will see to it this girl receives the proper processing."
The two glared at each other for a moment, before Lahar's expression relaxed slightly. "You are certain this girl has not taken any lives?"
"We are certain without a doubt." Erza stated firmly, stepping up.
"Then yes, she will undergo the juvenile processing and she will not receive a life sentence." Lahar confirmed with a slight nod, causing Wendy to smile slightly and Sheeree to look in surprise.
"Why… would you…?" She looked towards the Wizard Saint with a shocked expression.
"Wendy cares deeply for you." Makarov explained. "And it is my duty as a father to see to it she is happy, and if that means helping you, I will." He looked to her with a softened expression. "Sheeree, I may not know the details, but you have clearly gone through a hard time. Once this is all settled, come to Fairy Tail, I promise to leave the door unlocked."
Sheeree couldn't believe it. Did he seriously just offer her a spot in Fairy Tail? She looked around and saw all the smiles from all the wizards of that very guild, none of them had any objections.
Wendy walked to Sheeree with a smile and tears of joy in her eyes. "Sheeree, after Cait Shelter vanished, I almost gave up. But, Fairy Tail took me in, they became my family. I promise, they'll be your family to, and we can be sisters again!"
With that declaration, Sheeree lost all self-control as she ran to Wendy and two hugged each other with all their might, both crying loudly as tears of joy fell from both their eyes. That is all she ever really wanted, to be loved and be part of a family that would never leave her alone, and now she was. She knew that a family was waiting for, so she would endure and wait out her punishment, no matter what it was. All of the wizards present, even those not from Fairy Tail looked with warm smiles; even Carla, Lucy, Lisanna, and Levy almost shed tears of joy themselves, though Carla fully cried happily as well. She would welcome Sheeree with open arms and become a true friend to her.
After the heart-felt moment, Sheeree was led into the carriage before it finally closed.
"I really feel bad for her." Lucy commented.
"Me to." Lisanna agreed.
"Don't worry, you heard Gramps, she ain't going away forever." Natsu said.
Dante sighed. "Okay, now that's all taken care of…"
"Not so fast." Lahar stated firmly.
"Oh, what now?!" Natsu complained.
"Dante, son of the Dark Knight Sparda, I would request that you come with me." Lahar said to the red-clad Devil Hunter as he gave a slight glare, while everyone else looked in surprise.
"Hey, you can't arrest Dante!" Happy flew up immediately.
"He's not under arrest." Lahar replied, causing Happy to look in surprise.
"Well what do you want from me?" Dante questioned.
"The Magic Council would like to speak to you about a possible position in the organization." Lahar answered, causing Dante to look quite stunned, as well as everyone else present.
"They want Dante on the Magic Council?" Gray questioned.
"That's certainly an unexpected move." Erza voiced.
"Don't misunderstand, you aren't being offered a position on the Council itself, at least not yet." Lahar explained. "The Council would find you a position within the Rune Knights, one that will allow you to use your abilities and skills, within the Council's parameters of course."
"Why do you want me?" Dante asked.
"As I said, you're the Son of Sparda himself." Lahar said. "You clearly have powers that no one else in the world has. The Council would see to it that power is used to protect the kingdom. So, will you please come with me to meet the Council? They are expecting you."
Dante rubbed his head, pretending to contemplate. "Well, I guess I'd have a busy workload, what with being a Rune Knight and part of Fairy Tail…"
"No, you'd serve the Council and only the Council." Lahar stated.
"What?"
"It is written in Article 1 Section 4: any member of the Rune Knights cannot be part of a guild." Lahar explained. "If you decide to take the Council's offer, you will leave the Fairy Tail guild. That is the deal."
Dante slightly scoffed as he glanced back towards all his friends, all of whom had serious expressions on their faces.
"So, they'll only take him if he's not with the guild, huh?" Gajeel questioned with a scowl.
"Sounds as though they do not want his power outside their control." Lily commented in a disapproving tone.
"Is Dante… really going to leave…?" Wendy hopped that wasn't the case.
"No way!" Natsu exclaimed. "He's one of us, Dante ain't leaving!"
"Got that right." Trish agreed.
There were several more outcries of disapproval and shouts against the Rune Knights, which only seemed to irritate Lahar.
"This is not for any of you to decide!" Lahar shouted to the wizards as he turned his attention to Dante. "Make your decision."
Dante slightly scowled as he glanced back toward the guild, he looked towards Wendy, Lady, Happy, and Natsu in particular as he gave a smirk and a wink before turning back to Lahar.
"The answer's no." Dante said seriously, causing Lahar to look in minor surprise. "Your bosses don't like the idea of someone like me, someone like my old man, outside their control, so they'll try to make me one of their tin soldiers. That ain't happening. I'm sticking with Fairy Tail."
That caused all his friends to smile and even smirk with nods of approval.
"You'd stay with this problematic guild as opposed to helping to protect the land?" Lahar questioned.
"'Protect the land' you say?" Dante questioned. "Let me ask you something; how long were you and all your buddies here? You've got at least a hundred guys, so you must have been watching as Fairy Tail was fighting back hundreds of demons coming out of a dark tower the size of a freaking mountain! Why didn't you step in and help? Answer me that."
Lahar was taken back by that question. Truth is, he did want to help and step in, to fight back against the demons and to protect the kingdom from the threat they represented.
"I was under direct orders not to engage until the conflict was decided."
"'Conflict was decided', as in you were waiting to see who would die first, right?" Dante questioned. "Look four-eyes, I'm sure you were just following orders so this ain't personal, but it seems your bosses aren't exactly looking out for this kingdom's wellbeing. If that were true, they'd have you guys come in and help right away! It's no secret those old cronies hate Fairy Tail, so if our side lost, you'd come in and finish off the demons and make yourselves look like the heroes, and if a few Fairy Tail guys die, well, less trouble for you. Right?"
Lahar looked appalled by that accusation while all the wizards present were either shocked, horrified, or enraged.
"No way…!" Lucy looked in terror.
"The Council would really do that?" Wendy was shocked.
"Appalling!" Carla exclaimed.
Natsu growled. "Those good nothing jerks!"
"Aye! Got that right!" Happy shouted.
"Talk about a low blow." Lady commented.
It wasn't just them; the members of Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus were far from pleased themselves.
"Just when I thought the Magic Council couldn't stoop any lower." Ren commented.
"How dare they try to harm my sweet honey Erza! Men!" Ichiya exclaimed.
"Protect the kingdom my foot!" Sherry disapproved.
"How despicable!"
Toby howled. "What a bunch of mean jerks!"
Jura clenched his fists but said nothing. However, the one who appeared the most angered was Makarov. He said nothing as well, but if looks could kill, who would ever dare look into the eyes of Makarov Dreyar would be dead a thousand times over. How dare those fools try to harm his children!
Dante looked right at Lahar. "Say what you will about Fairy Tail, yeah they can be troublesome, but at least they have a moral compass! So, if I had to choose between them or your control-freak bosses, well it's really no choice at all. But I'd like to give them a message: tell the Council they can take their job request and their condescending attitude and shove it up their asses!" Lahar backed away at the tone Dante had. "And also tell them, if they ever try another dirty move to mess with Fairy Tail, I'll personally march right up to their doorstep and knock them off their high horse!"
Lahar gave an audible gasp. "You would threaten the Magic Council?!"
"If they hurt my friends, or even try this kind of stunt on innocent people, then your damn right I would!" Dante confirmed.
"If that happens, it won't just be Fairy Tail that the Council would have to worry about." Lyon stepped up with Dante as his guildmates stood behind him. "Lamia Scale will be more than happy to wage open war if we have to!"
"The same goes for Blue Pegasus!" Hibiki stepped up as well. "Magic Council or not, we won't stand by and let them become the very thing they claim to fight against."
"But…" Dante said. "If your bosses play nice, then we won't have a problem. So be a good errand boy and let them know, kay?"
Lahar looked into Dante's eyes, that one look told him that he meant every word. If the Magic Council threatened Fairy Tail like that again, he and the rest of his guild will likely declare open war on the Council; everyone else from the same guild stood firm, agreeing with everything he said. And it would seem that both Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale have given their support to Fairy Tail as well. There was a part of him that didn't like how the Council approached this particular situation, but he had his orders and he wasn't here to start a fight. So he turned around to address his troupes.
"Rune Knights, move out. We're done here."
With that order, his entire army turned around and began to march away with the caravan and the four prisoners inside. Lahar spared a glance back at the guild wizards before joining his army and leaving.
Dante gave a heavy sigh, especially as Makarov walked up next to him. "You disapprove, Gramps?"
"No. I agree with everything you just said." The elderly guild master said. "I admit I was afraid of the old council, but I had faith they would follow the system and they had the intent on protecting the people of Fiore. However, since this new Council emerged, I've had my doubts. And it seems now they weren't baseless. To think they'd stoop this low. We may be an official guild, but if the Magic Council ever tries to harm my children for no reason, I won't hesitate to destroy them!"
Dante gave a smirk. "Well said Gramps."
Makarov grunted and nodded. "But for now, let's go home. I'm sure we all could use a long rest."
"Heh, yeah, you could say that again." Dante chuckled as he rubbed his sore shoulder.
Done.
So that's it, what did you think?
Yep, the Magic Council really are a bunch of pricks, of course they'd resort to something that dirty. And it seems Angel/Sorano, Mammon, and Satan have been arrested, and even Sheeree. But don't worry, that girl isn't going to be gone forever, I have special plans for her.
And yes, Makarov even offered Vergil a position in Fairy Tail. He can see that Vergil isn't truly evil, but of course Vergil declined. I've got plans for him, but this may be the last you see of him for the next couple of arcs. He's NOT gonna show up in Tenrou Island, sorry to disappoint some of you. I'm sure you're all wondering what this has to do with Nero or the Order of the Sword later on. I can't go into details without spoiling anything, so you'll just have to wait
And with this, the battle against Devil Hand has officially been concluded. Now our heroes return home for some much-needed rest. They'll need as much rest as they can get, given the trials that await them soon (pun intended, hint-hint).
Like I said, this will be part of a double update so you can actually expect the next chapter to pop up in just a day or two. I really want to get started on the Tenrou Island arc and I've been looking forward to writing that forever! So, I'll see you soon.